Mahesh Bhatt has denied that Bollywood encourages men to be violent towards women.

The director and producer is behind the controversial releases Jism 2 and Murder.

He told the Hindustan Times: "Indian cinema has portrayed rapists as demons who have been brought to justice by the heroes. There is no credible evidence that Bollywood has contributed to violence against women.

"If people feel that women are being commodified in the media, then you need to pause and introspect. You cannot go on a denial mode, and say, 'We don't do anything'. We should be brave enough to face it and make corrections."

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The filmmaker also denied that item songs have any influence on the way women are treated.

"Item songs have not come into existence now. I can think of Helen [Jairag Richardson], who performed cabaret numbers," he said.